“Happy Endings” Do Not Exist

 

            Perception is everything. A written text contains only so many words, but its meaning can be extracted countless different ways. Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” leaves room for a plethora of interpretations based on the reader’s perception and understanding. One such interpretation exists with abundant textual evidence, including literary devices such as repetition and metafictional comments; namely, that Atwood attempts to inform the reader about not only writing a good story, but also living a worthwhile life.

            Understanding Atwood’s purpose necessitates that the rea der differentiate between the six sections of the story and thus clarify what each section discusses as well as which characters are contained in each. In section A, John and Mary get married, live a happy life, and die. In section B, Mary loves John, but he does not love her back. She kills herself, he marries Madge, and they eventually die. In section C, John loves Mary, but she does not love him back. He kills her, her lover James, and himself. His widow Madge marries Fred and they eventually die as well. In section D, Fred and Madge live a normal life, get hit by a tidal wave, survive, and still ultimately die. In section E, Fred and Madge are good people, Fred has a “bad heart” (Atwood 3), he dies, Madge does charity work, and dies later. In section F, John and Mary have exciting spy lives, but they too die in the end. There remains one obvious connection among all six sections—they all conclude in death.

             One of Atwood’s strongest literary techniques that assist the reader in understanding her purpose is her use of repetition. She repeats not only deaths at the end of each short section, but also words and phrases throughout all sections. The most obvious of these words is “and.” In each section, she alternates usage of this word: in A, 8 of 94 words are “and;” in B, 22 of 460; in C, 16 of 380; in D, 7 of 80; in E, 3 of 50; and in F, 8 of 176. The percentage of “and” in each section is as follows: A, 8.51%; B, 4.78%; C, 4.21%; D, 8.75; E, 6%; and F, 4.55%. Regardless of whether or not this high usage of “and” is common among other writers, this abnormality within her own sections informs the reader that something must be different at those points. When the reader accounts for the plot of each short section and combines that with the percentage of the word “and,” a correlation arises—the more mundane a section becomes, the more frequently “and” is used. The percentages of both A and D (the sections in which the characters live normal lives, even continuing the same lives after a tidal wave in D) are almost double those of B, C, and F (where characters have disputes, take risks, and are exciting). The percentage of E (where they die at different times and Madge changes, but very late) is about the middle. The percentage of “and” tends to be lower when the characters act and change, but higher when only the world around them changes. Although this does not directly relate to Atwood’s purpose, her high usage of conjunctions, or polysyndeton, demonstrates her negative opinion on boring unentertaining stories and lives, leading the reader to believe that she will advise the reader about such stories or lives.

             In the dull, shorter sections, Atwood rambles on for brief moments just to get through them. Additionally, she repeats certain phrases, such as the phrase “stimulating and challenging,” multiple times throughout the sections whenever they become dreary. Although this phrase may seem like a positive one, she repeats it three times in section A and once in section C when she discusses John and Madge’s uninteresting life together. The repetition of the phrase carries a condescending tone, as if every activity or event the couples partake in becomes the same, or extremely boring. This knowledge allows the reader to ascertain Atwood’s disapproval of these boring stories and lives. In the end though, they all end the same way regardless of their plots.

             Atwood’s constant repetition of death as a conclusion forces the reader to question why each section has the same ending. She addresses the concern in the final moments of the last section though when she writes, “You’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it” (Atwood 3). She continues later, “So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun” (Atwood 3). This statement begs the question of whose beginnings are more fun. She could be referring to writing beginnings, and thus beginnings being more fun for writers, or to partaking in beginnings, and thus beginnings being more fun for characters. Regardless, the author clearly wants to emphasize beginnings; however, now the question surfaces of what beginning and ending refers to. Fortunately, Atwood’s metafictional comments offer more insight into why exactly she wants the reader to focus on the beginning.

            At multiple times throughout the sections, Atwood steps back from her storytelling to comment on her writing and speak directly to the reader. In the third line of introduction to the collection, she writes, “If you want a happy ending, try A” (Atwood 1). Aside from the fact that she directly addresses the reader, she engages the reader in an unusual way. In that brief statement, Atwood makes the story the reader’s choice, as if the reader is the writer; all that matters is what the reader “want[s].” Clearly, she reaches out to readers by engaging them in such a way. Her beginning the sentence with “If” and then complementing it with “try” implies that although the reader may “want” to write a happy ending, there remains a large possibility that he or she will not receive it; he or she can only “try.” Atwood’s sentence structure suggests that she will ultimate disappoint the reader because he or she will not receive what is desired.

            Another example of insightful metafictional comments concludes section E: “If you like, it can be ‘Madge,’ ‘cancer,’ ‘guilty and confused,’ and ‘bird watching’” (Atwood 3). Once again, the narrator offers an “If”—merely a possibility, something that the reader may “like.” Unlike the third sentence of the section though, which only offers a happy ending, this sentence grants the reader options for which direction the story should proceed. However, regardless of which of the four options the reader decides on, the author does not continue section E; it does not matter what Madge does, her story will progress “until the end of A” (Atwood 3). In other words, irrespective of the reader’s choice of Madge’s story and where it goes, she will die.

            Clearly, Atwood’s metafictional comments demonstrate to the reader that all the sections will end in death; however, it is not entirely clear what she wants to apply this to. There seems to be some indication that she wants to advise the reader as to storytelling, but to understand this, the reader must read the entire text. In the second to last line of the final section, F, she writes, “That’s about all that can be said for plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what” (Atwood 3). According to Oxford English Dictionary, “plot” is defined as “The plan or scheme of a literary or dramatic work; the main events of a play, novel, film, opera, etc., considered or presented as an interrelated sequence; a storyline” (“Plot” def. 6). Plot stands as the most blatant reference to the author’s advice extending to good writing throughout the sections. These plots are just repetition, facts piled onto other facts.

            Atwood continues into the last line to offer even more insight as to her purposes: “Now try How and Why” (Atwood 3). The writer has plainly dismissed the “what” of the story that she addressed in the third line of the story – “a happy ending.” She draws a parallel between the two lines by telling the reader to “try” again because the first attempt did not succeed. When this line is viewed in conjunction with the previous one, her purpose seems to be revealed as rewriting the story with something other than the plot, or the “what,” in mind. At this point, she has clearly demonstrated that she disapproves of boring stories and plotlines that focus too much on “happy endings,” and that their attention should be pointed towards everything but the ending. In her words, “Beginnings are always more fun,” but whether for the writer or the doer is unclear.

            Although the purpose of the sections can be seen as advice for good writing, there remains the interpretation of advice for living a good life. “So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it’s the hardest to do anything with” (Atwood 3). Oxford English Dictionary defines “connoisseur” as “A person well acquainted with one of the fine arts” (“Connoisseur” def. 2). This definition seemingly only applies to artists or those who appreciate art, specifically writers and the culturally adept, and that they should know to write about the “how” and “why” of a story and not just the “what,” or the happy ending. However, OED also defines “connoisseur” as “One who knows, one versed in a subject” (“Connoisseur” def. 1). This definition can be extended to essentially anyone who knows anything; in other words, every person living life.

            The aforementioned quote offers even greater insight though. The “stretch in between” that Atwood indicates is also quite unclear. She notes that “Beginnings are always more fun;” however, she does not specify that this must be the beginning of a story. Additionally, the repeated ending of death is an inevitable ending not just to a story, but also to real life. The vague beginning and clear ending of a story reflect the same opening and conclusion of a life. Essentially, Atwood insists that people who live their lives to the fullest are the true connoisseurs. In section D, Atwood writes, “But their charming house is by the seashore and one day a giant tidal wave approaches” (Atwood 2). The author’s use of “but” and “one day” signify an unexpected change in the characters’ environment. At no point during a story does a change occur that the writer is not aware of; however, changes occur in people’s lives constantly, illustrated in the next line: “Real estate values go down” (Atwood 2). An author can choose this unforeseen twist, but a normal person cannot—one has to cope with one’s circumstances. This realistic, unfortunate plot twist extends past written stories into real life. Finally, Atwood’s message encompasses both writing stories and living life.

            In her collection of short sections of one story entitled “Happy Endings,” Margaret Atwood validates her claim that a happy ending cannot exist—all that exists is death. She successfully uses literary devices such as repetition and metafictional comments to extend this advice not only to good writing, but also to living a worthwhile life. According to her, every writer is too focused on writing a good “what,” or happy ending, and loses the vital traits of a story. More importantly, people are too focused on their “what” and lose “how” and “why” they live their lives.

 

 

Works Cited

Atwood, Margaret. “Happy Endings.” Murder in the Dark: Short Fictions and Prose Poems. Toronto: Coach House, 1983. Print.

“Connoisseur.” Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 October 2013.

“Plot.” Oxford English Dictionary Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 October 2013.

 

 

*This paper is written about a story entitled “Happy Endings,” written by Margaret Atwood. Read the short story here.